Tour
tram about to become victim to the Curse (January 2006) Photo by MR

Photos by theStudioTour.com, April 2006

Here's the famous Mummy's Tomb film set that's said to be cursed.

All looks pretty quiet at the moment.

The film crew seem to have vanished

That door looks to have been forced open. From the inside.

Beetles. Scarab beetles at that.

On the odd occasion that the tunnel is undergoing
maintenance, the tram bypasses it, which sometimes
can be quite revealing. The photos below show the
slightly battered outside of the attraction, and the
exit door with the forced perspective painting, giving
the illusion of a longer tunnel.
It turns out that the closure period shown here (June
2006) was to repaint the ultraviolet effects on the
tunnel walls. There are now Warrior Mummies which
have the same design as many of the mummies that feature
in the Revenge of the Mummy, linking the attractions
together very nicely.

Photos by Darkbeer, June 9th 2006

Dante's
Peak
(1997 - 2000?)

Welcome to Dante's Peak,
the "dormant" volcano, and its
mystifying mine shaft. Our resident seismologists assure us that
the mine shaft is safe enough for you to travel through its depths.
But watch out for lava, it can really sneak up on you and send you
tumbling.
The Dante's Peak lava flow experience is only one of the innovative
special effects that you'll experience on the Backlot tour at Universal.
Although your eyes and mind may tell you otherwise, the tour tram will
stay perfectly level during the entire experience. The walls will simply
revolve around you.
The end result? Well you'll just have to see it to believe it.

This attraction featured
ultraviolet lighting effects by Los Angeles-based Wildfire.

(1975
- 1997)

"Doomed Glacier
Expedition
Your tram moves rapidly up a snow-covered mountain and enters a massive ice cavern.
You shiver in frigid drafts of mountain air; you hear ominous sounds as if the
earth were shifting above you. The noises grow louder... and you realize you're
in the middle of an Alpine avalanche! The tram seems to careen over and over
in the midst of ice, snow and thunder! But the tunnel does have an end, and the
tram escapes safely... thanks to Universal's special-effects experts"From View-Master Universal Studios Shows and Special
Effects K74, 1979

Avalanche! The cry Alpine climbers fear most is resounding loudly now at the Universal Studios Tour with one of its newer special effects, the "Doomed Glacier Expedition."

All the spine-chilling sounds and sensations of the raging center of an Alpine avalanche surround the Tour visitor while journeying through Universal's own glacier country.

Beginning with the rapid ascent of the tram up what the guide would have you believe is a snow-covered valley, to a treacherous cliff "25,000 feet high," the "expedition" faces a massive ice cavern, its opening frosted with ice formations and shards of crystallized snow.

With no other choice, the tram enters the tunnel as frigid mountain drafts and earth-moving sounds buffet the air. The noises grow louder and the signal is clear -- avalanche!

Suddenly, all control is lost. The tram appears to careen over and over in the midst of ice and snow and thunder. Will it plummet thousands of feet below to a sub-zero fate? Not when Universal Studios' special effects experts are in charge. The tunnel does have an end and the tram escapes safely.

Above and below:
The entrance to the Glacier Avalanche seen in 1983 in these stills
from The
A Team, season two, Steel episode. (transmitted November
1983)

K.I.T.T. from the "Fright Knight" episode of Knight Rider about to enter the Ice Tunnel in 1986.

The
tunnel featuring in The Six Million Dollar Man, "The
Secret of Bigfoot" episodes (first transmitted February 1976).
The "roadway" that the tram runs on has been covered with
cloth and a forced-perspective miniature has been placed at the far
end of the tunnel (see bottom photo featuring Andre the Giant as Bigfoot)

Andre the Giant as Bigfoot in front of an unconvincing forced perspective
miniature
at the far end of the tunnel.